In the first game of Saturday’s double-header against Santa Clara, Oregon freshman third baseman John Adamson got his first start of the season as coach George Horton attempted to jolt the Ducks out of their four-game losing streak by shaking up the starting lineup.
The move paid off in a big way for Oregon, as Adamson went 3-for-8 with four RBIs on a double, a triple and a home run. He also laid down a sacrifice bunt and drew a walk in his three starts over the weekend.
Adamson was all nerves early though, with two strikeouts in his first two plate appearances of the season. His only previous playing time had been an inning of defense at Washington.
“I was pretty anxious about it when I got out there, a little nervous,” Adamson admitted. “After (the second at-bat) I just said, ‘I’m just going to go out and do what I do,’ and just kind of got settled down.”
By the time he came to the plate in the seventh with two runners on base he certainly appeared comfortable, as he ripped a two-run triple into the left field corner to cap a seven-run rally for Oregon.
In the nightcap, Adamson turned on a 3-1 inside fastball from Bronco junior pitcher Alex Rivers and sent it into the Ducks’ bullpen, over the section of shorter fence in right field, to put Oregon up 2-0.
“I was pretty stoked about that. I was hoping it would go out but I wasn’t real sure off the bat,” Adamson said.
He got his third consecutive start in Sunday’s finale and paid dividends to Horton again as he slapped a double down the left field line in the fifth inning to drive in senior infielder Andrew Schmidt and notch his fourth RBI of the weekend.
Horton made it official after the series finale, when he named Adamson the Ducks’ first-string third baseman going forward.
“He deserves to be the starter right now. I don’t think anybody is confused about that,” Horton said. “Guys like him are just what we need.”
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